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Leigh Edmond Bodden (born September 24, 1981) is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
. He was originally signed by the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
as an
undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
in 2003. He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at Duquesne. Bodden also played for the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
and the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
.


Early life

Bodden was born in
Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is an urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper Anacostia ...
. He attended Northwestern High School in Hyattsville. In 1998, his final season with the Wildcats, Bodden helped lead his school to a 10–2 record.


College career

The holder of nearly every
Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...
interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...
record, Bodden picked off seven passes in his senior season, 2002, under head coach Greg Gattuso, including a school record-tying three interceptions versus Iona College. Duquesne's defense was ranked number one in all of
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I-AA in 2002 in total and scoring defense and second in pass and pass efficiency defense. He was the
Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...
long jump champion in 2002. In his final season with Duquesne, Bodden was an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division I-AA All-American and the 2002
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...
Football League Defensive Player of the Year. He also was a consensus All-American as a junior. He had 28 interceptions during his time at Duquesne, second in the nation during that period.


Professional career


Cleveland Browns

Despite his strong collegiate career, Bodden received little press and went undrafted in 2003. However, Bodden made the 53-man roster of the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
out of training camp in 2003 and contributed heavily as a special teams player and nickel cornerback, playing in 13 games in his rookie year. He recorded his first career NFL interception against the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
off a fourth-quarter pass by
Josh McCown Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college foo ...
. The 2004 season saw Bodden further establish himself as a force on special teams. He tied for the team lead with 18 special tackles and recorded his first career forced fumble. Bodden's season ended in the third quarter of a Week 8 match-up against
AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realign ...
rival
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
. He suffered a left shoulder strain and was later placed on
injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...
for the remainder of the season due to a biceps injury. In 2005, Bodden had a breakthrough season. He gained one of the starting cornerback positions under new head coach Romeo Crennel after an injury to Gary Baxter. Despite missing Weeks 2 and 3 with an injury, then Weeks 4–6 as inactive, he became a favorite of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and secondary coach
Mel Tucker Melvin Gene Tucker II (born January 4, 1972) is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Michigan State University from 2020 to 2023. Tucker was the interim head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the Na ...
. In a Week 1 loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
, he totaled seven tackles, a forced fumble, and his second career interception. He contributed in defensive efforts against Houston (ten tackles and one interception in a 19–16 loss), Miami (five tackles in a 22–0 win), and Oakland (six tackles and one interception in a 9–7 win). In Week 17, Bodden forced a fumble, caught an interception, and tallied five tackles. His contributions helped the Browns to a 20–16 win over the Ravens. As a result of his solid performance in 2005, Bodden received a four-year contract extension. Bodden spent most of the 2006 season battling injuries and only played in nine games, with two interceptions. On September 5, 2007, Bodden was arrested following an incident outside Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where he was picking up his girlfriend and their children. Bodden backed his 2004 GMC Yukon SUV into a parking spot in the airport's arrivals area. Cleveland police reported that Bodden failed to comply when asked to pull his vehicle over. When asked a second time by police, he reportedly did comply, but pulled his SUV into an illegal parking zone and left it there. Officers alleged that Bodden was verbally abusive when asked for his driver's license. Bodden was released from jail after posting $1,000 bond and entered not guilty pleas to charges of resisting arrest, failing to comply with an officer and a traffic offense. Bodden apologized for the incident on September 6, and did not face a team or league-imposed suspension for conduct. Despite the incident, Bodden returned to start all 16 games in 2007. On December 23, Bodden recorded two interceptions in a Browns loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. His six interceptions on the season were a career high, as were his 88 tackles.


Detroit Lions

On February 29, 2008, Bodden was traded to the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
along with a third round draft choice in a deal for
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
Shaun Rogers. Bodden started all 16 games for the 0-16 Lions in 2008, recording 73 tackles and an interception. Bodden was released by the Lions on February 9, 2009.


New England Patriots

Bodden signed a one-year contract with the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
on March 11, 2009. He started 14 of the 15 games he played for the Patriots in
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
. In a Week 11 matchup against the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
, Bodden intercepted rookie Jets quarterback
Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...
three times, returning one for a 56-yard score and tying a team high. He finished the season with a team-high five interceptions, along with 55 tackles, 18 passes defended, and one forced fumble. The Patriots and Bodden were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension prior to the start of free agency in March 2010. After visiting with the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
on March 8, 2010, Bodden was reported to have signed a deal with the Patriots the very next day. The following day, details of the contract were released: the total value of the deal was $22 million over 4 years, with $10 million guaranteed. The contract was front-loaded, with nearly two-thirds ($14 million) of the net value coming in the first two years. Bodden was placed on injured reserve by the Patriots on August 31, 2010, with a shoulder injury. He missed all of the 2010 NFL season. Bodden was released on October 28, 2011, and retired from playing football.


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Playoffs


Political career

In 2022, Bodden ran to be the Prince George's County Executive, losing in the Democratic primary to incumbent
Angela Alsobrooks Angela Deneece Alsobrooks (born February 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Maryland. A member of the Democrati ...
.


References


External links


Duquesne Dukes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodden, Leigh 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Washington, D.C. American football cornerbacks Duquesne Dukes football players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players New England Patriots players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Candidates in the 2022 United States elections Maryland Democrats